Hip replacement in Turkey: what you should know before you book
A total hip replacement (total hip arthroplasty) replaces the worn ball and socket of the hip with an artificial joint: a stem in the thigh bone carrying a ball, and a cup in the pelvis. It is one of the most common operations in orthopaedics: the National Joint Registry (NJR) for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man records roughly 100,000 primary hip replacements a year. Most patients who travel to Turkey for it have osteoarthritis that painkillers and physiotherapy no longer control, and face either a long NHS waiting list or a private price at home.
A hip replacement in Turkey is performed in full hospitals with an intensive-care unit and physiotherapists on the ward, with the same implant brands used in Europe and the US, at typically a third to a half of a private price in the UK or Germany. What is different is the logistics: you stay about 10 days, and the weeks of recovery that follow happen at home, so that plan must be agreed before you travel. The hospitals and surgeons that perform the operation are listed on this page; a quote is free.
Total Hip Replacement in Turkey: how it works
- 1Send your photos and questions
Free and without obligation: tell us what you want to change and send a few photos — by form or WhatsApp.
- 2Get a written plan and price
A surgeon reviews your case and you receive a personal plan with the price, usually within 24 hours. Compare hospitals; nothing is paid in advance.
- 3Travel, surgery and aftercare
Airport pick-up, examination, surgery and check-ups in Istanbul, then follow-up with your surgeon after you fly home.
- Within about 2 hours
A coordinator replies in your language by WhatsApp or e-mail.
- Within 24 hours
A surgeon reviews your photos and you receive a written plan with the surgeon's name and the price.
- You decide
Ask anything and take your time — nothing is paid in advance.
Why plan Total Hip Replacement in Turkey with Treat Journey?
- Free for patients
Searching, comparing and requesting quotes costs nothing. You pay the hospital directly, at the price in your written quote — never a pre-payment to us.
- Real hospital prices, published
Every price on this page is the hospital's own price for international patients, shown live in your currency, with what the package includes.
- A named surgeon and a written plan
Your quote names the surgeon and the hospital and lists exactly what is included — no anonymous packages.
- Licensed hospitals only
We list licensed hospitals with an international patient department; accreditations such as JCI are shown on each hospital page.
- Honest reviews
We show real patient reviews, including Google reviews and critical ones, and we never invent ratings.
- Support before, during and after
A coordinator in your language answers within hours, arranges transfers and an interpreter, and stays in touch after you fly home.
How much is a hip replacement in Turkey?
The hip replacement cost in Turkey for international patients is usually about €6,500–€11,000 for one hip, depending on the hospital, the implant and bearing and the length of stay — approximate ranges, confirmed in a written quote after the surgeon has seen your X-rays. The figures for other countries are typical private totals and vary widely.
| Country | Typical total price, one hip | What is usually included |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey | about €6,500–€11,000 (approximate, confirmed in a written quote) | Surgeon and anaesthetist, implant, 4–6 nights in hospital, tests, medication, ward physiotherapy, transfers, interpreter; hotel nights often included |
| United Kingdom (private) | about £12,000–£16,000 | Surgeon, anaesthetist, implant, hospital stay; physiotherapy after discharge often extra |
| United States | about $30,000–$45,000 | Surgeon, anaesthesia, implant and facility fees, often billed separately |
| Germany (self-pay) | about €12,000–€18,000 | Surgeon, implant, hospital stay; inpatient rehabilitation separate |
What changes the price: the implant and bearing (a cemented stem with a polyethylene cup costs less than a cementless stem with a ceramic head), robotic-assisted surgery, a revision hip replacement, surgery for hip dysplasia, and extra hospital nights. The written quote should name the implant brand and model and list hospital nights, tests, medication including blood-thinning injections for the trip home, ward physiotherapy, transfers and the interpreter; flights, a companion, extra nights and treatment of a complication are often not included. You pay the hospital directly on arrival (see how it works).
Hip replacement abroad instead of the NHS waiting list
In England the NHS standard is that treatment should start within 18 weeks of referral. For trauma and orthopaedics many patients wait considerably longer, and the published NHS waiting-time figures show the orthopaedic list to be among the largest in the system. The NHS does not reimburse an operation you choose to have in Turkey: a hip replacement abroad is a private decision paid from your own pocket, and you stay on the NHS list until you cancel.
What the NHS does provide is care afterwards: your GP, wound checks and NHS physiotherapy. Tell your GP before you travel and bring back the operation report, the discharge summary and the implant stickers (brand, model, lot numbers) — the NJR cannot record an implant placed outside the UK.
Who is a candidate for a total hip replacement?
The usual reason is osteoarthritis with groin or thigh pain on walking, pain at night, stiffness that makes socks and shoes difficult and a limp, despite painkillers, physiotherapy and often an injection; avascular necrosis of the femoral head, rheumatoid arthritis, an old fracture and hip dysplasia are other reasons. The X-ray must show that the joint is worn — a painful hip with mild changes is treated with exercise and sometimes a hip arthroscopy, not a replacement.
Before you travel, diabetes, blood pressure and heart disease should be assessed by your own doctor, any infection (teeth, skin, bladder) treated, and your weight accepted by the surgeon. Smokers should stop, and a pause in blood thinners is planned with the prescribing doctor. If nobody can help you at home in the first two weeks, add an orthopaedic rehabilitation stay before the flight.
Approaches and implants: anterior, posterior, cemented or cementless
| Choice | Options | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Surgical approach | Posterior, lateral, or anterior / minimally invasive (ALMIS, AMIS) | The anterior approach spares the muscles at the back of the hip, with fewer movement restrictions early on; long-term results are similar in registry data, and the surgeon's experience with an approach matters more |
| Fixation | Cemented, cementless or hybrid | Cementless stems are usual in younger patients with good bone; cemented stems are well proven in older patients, with a lower risk of early fracture around the implant |
| Bearing | Metal or ceramic head on a highly cross-linked polyethylene cup; ceramic-on-ceramic | Ceramic-on-polyethylene is the most used today; metal-on-metal is no longer recommended |
| Revision | Revision hip replacement | For a loose, worn, infected or dislocating earlier replacement; longer surgery that needs a surgeon who does revisions regularly |
The operation itself takes about one to two hours under spinal or general anaesthesia: the worn femoral head is removed, the cup is fitted in the socket, the stem is fixed in the thigh bone and the new ball placed on it. Hip resurfacing is now offered only to selected younger men, because registry data show higher revision rates in women and with small components. Ask which implant will be used: one with a long registry record is a safer choice than a new design.
Your hip replacement trip to Turkey: about 10 days
- Before you fly: send a recent pelvis X-ray, your medicines and any blood results; the surgeon confirms the approach, the implant and the written price.
- Day 1: arrival, examination by the surgeon and anaesthetist, blood tests, ECG, signed plan.
- Day 2: surgery in the morning; first steps with a frame the same afternoon or next day.
- Days 3–6: daily ward physiotherapy, wound checks, frame then crutches, stairs, getting in and out of bed safely; discharge to the hotel on day 5 or 6.
- Days 7–10: short walks several times a day, the exercise programme, a final check, X-ray and documents.
- Days 10–12: flight home once the surgeon clears you: aisle seat, a walk every hour, compression stockings, blood thinners as prescribed, a raised cushion if you have movement restrictions (see flying after surgery). Travel with a companion — in the first two weeks you need help with washing, socks and stairs.
Hip replacement recovery time and the first weeks at home
- Weeks 1–2: walking indoors with crutches, exercises three times a day, the wound checked at your GP practice around day 12–14. After a posterior approach most surgeons ask you not to bend the hip past 90 degrees, cross your legs or twist for about six weeks; after an anterior approach there are usually fewer restrictions.
- Weeks 3–6: outdoor walking, one crutch then none, driving once you can do an emergency stop (about six weeks); physiotherapy for strength and gait so the limp disappears.
- Months 2–3: office work, swimming, static cycling; most patients walk normally.
- Months 6–12: strength and stamina return; the final result is judged at about a year. Walking, cycling, swimming and golf are encouraged; running and contact sports wear the implant.
Follow-up is by video call and your own X-rays sent through the hospital's international patient team at six weeks, three months and a year. A fever, a leaking wound, a painful swollen calf, sudden breathlessness, or sudden severe pain with a leg that looks shorter or turned (a possible dislocation) means an emergency department at once.
Risks of hip replacement and how long the implant lasts
- Dislocation of the new joint is the risk specific to hip replacement: it occurs in roughly 1–3 in 100 patients, mostly in the first months, and is lower with larger heads, a careful repair of the soft tissues and by following the movement precautions.
- Deep infection of the joint occurs in about 1 in 100 patients in registry and NHS data and may need further surgery, including removal of the implant.
- Blood clots: with early walking, blood-thinning medication and compression, a symptomatic deep-vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism occurs in roughly 1–2 in 100 patients; the flight home makes the prevention routine more important.
- Other: a leg-length difference (a few millimetres is common and usually unnoticed), fracture around the implant, nerve injury (rare), loosening and wear over the years, and the risks of anaesthesia. NHS PROMs data show satisfaction after hip replacement to be higher than after knee replacement, with a small minority reporting ongoing pain.
How long it lasts: a 2019 analysis in The Lancet of pooled national joint registry data, including the NJR, estimated that about 58 per cent of total hip replacements are still in place 25 years after surgery, with the large majority lasting 15 years or more. The NJR's annual reports give revision rates by implant and bearing.
How to choose a hospital for hip replacement in Turkey
- A full hospital with an intensive-care unit and 24-hour medical cover; the hospitals on our site hold Ministry of Health licences and several are JCI-accredited.
- An orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in joint replacement: ask how many hip replacements they do a year, which approach and which implants they use, and their name before you book.
- The implant in writing on the quote, and the implant stickers after surgery.
- Ward physiotherapy, a written home programme in English with the movement precautions, and someone who answers questions after you are home.
- Clear rules for complications: who treats an infection or a dislocation after you return, and who pays.
Red flags: a price far below the range above, no surgeon's name until arrival, a stay of under a week and no blood-clot prevention for the flight. See our guides on choosing a safe surgeon in Turkey and insurance for surgery abroad (standard travel insurance excludes planned surgery), the joint replacement category, knee replacement and the orthopaedics hub.
Frequently asked questions
For international patients a total hip replacement in Turkey usually costs about €6,500–€11,000 for one hip, including the implant, the hospital stay and ward physiotherapy. These are approximate ranges; the exact price is confirmed in a written quote after the surgeon has seen your X-rays.
A private total hip replacement in the UK typically costs about £12,000–£16,000, with physiotherapy after discharge often charged separately. In the US the total is usually $30,000–$45,000, and in Germany self-paying patients pay roughly €12,000–€18,000.
The risks — dislocation, infection, blood clots — are the same in every country; what matters is the hospital and surgeon. Choose a licensed full hospital with an intensive-care unit, an orthopaedic surgeon who performs hip replacement regularly, a named implant with a registry track record, and a written plan for blood-clot prevention and movement precautions on the flight home.
Plan about 10–12 days: 4–6 nights in hospital, then a few days in a hotel with daily walking and exercises, a final check and an X-ray before the surgeon clears you to fly.
Yes, as a private patient paying yourself; the NHS does not reimburse an operation chosen abroad. Many patients do this because the 18-week standard is not met for orthopaedic waiting lists. After you return, your GP and NHS physiotherapy can look after you; bring the operation report and the implant details with you.
Most patients walk with crutches for two to four weeks, drive after about six weeks, return to office work after six to eight weeks and judge the final result at around a year. After a posterior approach the movement precautions last about six weeks; after an anterior approach there are usually fewer restrictions.
A 2019 Lancet analysis of national joint registry data estimated that about 58 per cent of total hip replacements are still in place after 25 years, and the large majority last 15 years or more. The lifetime depends on the implant and bearing, the patient's weight and activity and the quality of the surgery; the NJR publishes revision rates by implant.
The anterior approach spares the muscles at the back of the hip, often with fewer movement restrictions and a quicker first few weeks; the posterior approach is the most widely used and gives the surgeon the widest view. Long-term results are similar in registry data, so a surgeon's experience with their approach matters more than the approach itself.
Yes, for fit patients: both in one anaesthetic or a few days apart. The hospital stay is longer and the first weeks are harder; your surgeon and anaesthetist decide whether your heart and general health allow it.
Usually 10–12 days after surgery, once the wound is dry, you walk safely with crutches and the surgeon has checked an X-ray. Walk every hour in flight, wear compression stockings, take the prescribed blood thinners, and use a raised cushion if you have movement precautions after a posterior approach.